So where will we finish this season?

[kirkby blade]

i pray for top 6 finnish but i think we will be lucky to finnish there
we def be in top 10

 

[travellingblade]

with cheap as chips at BDTBL and the squad we have today .........bottom half ...and thats optomistic !

I fully agree.

It's going to be a long hard season.

I just hope we don't join the Wednesday, or worst still ...........

 

[DuncDisorderly]

Relegation my arse. If you think the league is full of top weight squads all ready to stomp us into the dirt i suggest you look at the Championship movements tracker

http://www.sufc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10418~1999859,00.html

Who is buying quality, in fact who is buying anyone, really?

We might not have real stars, but we have got a good squad of decent quality and dependable pro's and some fast improving kids. We will be organised, we will be able to defend, we've got three proven 15+ scorers (until Hendo goes...) and we've been there before, too many times maybe, but there is a lot of really good experience around for when times are tougher. Whether we are good enough to make the top two, I dont know. i dont't think we've quite got enough but lets see who comes in this week.

At the risk of repeating myself. Relegation, my arse...

 

[Highbury_Blade]

Relegation my arse. If you think the league is full of top weight squads all ready to stomp us into the dirt i suggest you look at the Championship movements tracker

http://www.sufc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10418~1999859,00.html

Who is buying quality, in fact who is buying anyone, really?

We might not have real stars, but we have got a good squad of decent quality and dependable pro's and some fast improving kids. We will be organised, we will be able to defend, we've got three proven 15+ scorers (until Hendo goes...) and we've been there before, too many times maybe, but there is a lot of really good experience around for when times are tougher. Whether we are good enough to make the top two, I dont know. i dont't think we've quite got enough but lets see who comes in this week.

At the risk of repeating myself. Relegation, my arse...

Too true duncs, too true.

The think that really made me smile about looking at our ins and outs is the bit highlighted in bold below


Ins
Nyron Nosworthy (Sunderland - loan)
Rob Kozluk (Barnsley)
Simon Walton (Plymouth Argyle - loan)
Steve Simonsen (Stoke City)
Leon Britton (Swansea City)
Johnny Ertl (Crystal Palace)
Daniel Bogdanovic (Barnsley)

Outs
James Harper (Hull City)
Sam Wedgbury (Macclesfield Town)
Billy Sharp (Sheffield United)
Jordan Stewart (Skoda Xanthi)
Ian Bennett (Huddersfield Town)
Paddy Kenny (QPR)
Gary Naysmith (Huddersfield Town)


Thank fuck for that.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

The most interesting part will be to see who grabs the young guns from the big clubs on loan when the transfer window closes.

Probably not us....

 

[bramptonblade]

Top 6 for me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kop_blade9]

Too true duncs, too true.

The think that really made me smile about looking at our ins and outs is the bit highlighted in bold below


Ins
Nyron Nosworthy (Sunderland - loan)
Rob Kozluk (Barnsley)
Simon Walton (Plymouth Argyle - loan)
Steve Simonsen (Stoke City)
Leon Britton (Swansea City)
Johnny Ertl (Crystal Palace)
Daniel Bogdanovic (Barnsley)

Outs
James Harper (Hull City)
Sam Wedgbury (Macclesfield Town)
Billy Sharp (Sheffield United)
Jordan Stewart (Skoda Xanthi)
Ian Bennett (Huddersfield Town)
Paddy Kenny (QPR)
Gary Naysmith (Huddersfield Town)


Thank fuck for that.

Interesting thing for me is that Billy Sharpe has left sheffield United and signed for ........... Sheffield United

 

[blades1889]

9th if Blackwell still in charge

 

[Maidenhead]

Where did I state that I was worried about the situation? Blackwell is a yes man and I've accpeted that. But him bowing down to the board wanting to sell best players, decrease the wage bill and settle for mediocrity for the time being isn't a major issue for me. I've accepted it.

The big issue for me JD is KB's merits as a manager. I just don't think he is up to the job. His tactics are awful, his man management has been brought into question, his choice of players in usually poor, he never gets the best out of players and he never has a plan B. Some people will say that he has had one hand tied behind his back, but I still feel that with the resources he has had then he should have done better. Yes he's decreased the wage bill and been forced to sell good players, but he inherited a fantastic squad. He's also had numrous decent players who haven't performaned under him or who he has never given a chance. Some might say he has been unlcuky with injuries, but it was incredibly naive of him to have such a thin squad and no defensivce cover. He was lucky to inherit a very good team and over time (as he has made his mark on the team) then he has been shown to be out of his depth.

Really? A fantastic squad that was doing so well that all the kids were taking their shoes of in the car park?

A fantastic squad is about much more than football ability alone. Last seasons disasterous loan situations made it almost impossible for anyone to stand a chance of building a team with proper team spirit and whatever you think of Blackwell that was not his fault.

Do you think Blackwell negotiated Walker's contract and release clause himself? Would you blame him for that too?

I actually think KB did a decent job in very difficult circumstances last season and I think things are looking much better for next season.

All the noises coming out of BDTBL are very positive. You don't need to have the best players to win the league, you have to have thye best TEAM and I think in that respect we are much stronger than last year.

Top 4 for me.

 

[Micalijo]

Really? A fantastic squad that was doing so well that all the kids were taking their shoes of in the car park?

A fantastic squad is about much more than football ability alone. Last seasons disasterous loan situations made it almost impossible for anyone to stand a chance of building a team with proper team spirit and whatever you think of Blackwell that was not his fault.

Do you think Blackwell negotiated Walker's contract and release clause himself? Would you blame him for that too?

I actually think KB did a decent job in very difficult circumstances last season and I think things are looking much better for next season.

All the noises coming out of BDTBL are very positive. You don't need to have the best players to win the league, you have to have thye best TEAM and I think in that respect we are much stronger than last year.

Top 4 for me.

Always good to start the week off with a good laugh, ta very much.

Totally amazing how you can somehow detach Blackwell fromn the shambles that was SUFC in 09/10. He is the bleedin manager, the most vital member of staff. The club revolves around its manager, he sets the tone, trains players, motivates them, picks the team and its tactics, he had circa £14m to spend on wages and produced mind-numbingly shocking performances week after week.

I cannot believe McCabe has let a situation develop where even before the term starts there are thousands of Blades who have no time at all for the manager of the club and who would happily see him dismissed

Blackwell Out.

 

[Maidenhead]

Always good to start the week off with a good laugh, ta very much.

Totally amazing how you can somehow detach Blackwell fromn the shambles that was SUFC in 09/10. He is the bleedin manager, the most vital member of staff. The club revolves around its manager, he sets the tone, trains players, motivates them, picks the team and its tactics, he had circa £14m to spend on wages and produced mind-numbingly shocking performances week after week.

I cannot believe McCabe has let a situation develop where even before the term starts there are thousands of Blades who have no time at all for the manager of the club and who would happily see him dismissed

Blackwell Out.

Have I detached Blackwell?

He is responsible for all the things you say, BUT

He didnt have £14m to spend on wages, someone else had done most of that for him, and connected to that that many of the players that he did have were not his choices. His hands were tied by only having a very small portion of that £14m to spend himself and the restrictions on additional recruitment placed by the board.

I think you will find that it was the players that produced shocking performances week in and week out. I'm certain that KB didn't send them out week after week with the instructions " I want another crap performance this week lads" and it is telling that although KB did defend the players at times last season, he didn't always.

Next season however is a whole new ball game. Last season more or less cleared the decks and there are no excuses left for a repeat performance next time round.

Personally I think we're in for a good season but if I'm wrong then I would agree that Blackwell should take responsibility because his days of trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear are now over.

 

[Micalijo]

Have I detached Blackwell?

He is responsible for all the things you say, BUT

He didnt have £14m to spend on wages, someone else had done most of that for him, and connected to that that many of the players that he did have were not his choices. His hands were tied by only having a very small portion of that £14m to spend himself and the restrictions on additional recruitment placed by the board.

I think you will find that it was the players that produced shocking performances week in and week out. I'm certain that KB didn't send them out week after week with the instructions " I want another crap performance this week lads" and it is telling that although KB did defend the players at times last season, he didn't always.

Next season however is a whole new ball game. Last season more or less cleared the decks and there are no excuses left for a repeat performance next time round.

Personally I think we're in for a good season but if I'm wrong then I would agree that Blackwell should take responsibility because his days of trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear are now over.

Yes, I think you are doing exactly that in your earlier post and the above one as well.

Signing Bunn for example was a disgrace, Andrew Davies - pathetic, Taylor - pathetic, Camara - crock, Williamson - crock, Evans - joke. I could go on - you let him off way too easily in my opinion.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Yes, I think you are doing exactly that in your earlier post and the above one as well.

Signing Bunn for example was a disgrace, Andrew Davies - pathetic, Taylor - pathetic, Camara - crock, Williamson - crock, Evans - joke. I could go on - you let him off way too easily in my opinion.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

 

[SwissBlade]

Have I detached Blackwell?

He is responsible for all the things you say, BUT

He didnt have £14m to spend on wages, someone else had done most of that for him, and connected to that that many of the players that he did have were not his choices. His hands were tied by only having a very small portion of that £14m to spend himself and the restrictions on additional recruitment placed by the board.

I think you will find that it was the players that produced shocking performances week in and week out. I'm certain that KB didn't send them out week after week with the instructions " I want another crap performance this week lads" and it is telling that although KB did defend the players at times last season, he didn't always.

Next season however is a whole new ball game. Last season more or less cleared the decks and there are no excuses left for a repeat performance next time round.

Personally I think we're in for a good season but if I'm wrong then I would agree that Blackwell should take responsibility because his days of trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear are now over.

Hi Maidenhead,

I agree with a lot of your first post, you certainly have a measured opinion of last season and its true there were a lot of issues way outside Blackwell's remit.

However, my main issue last season was his handling of matters, his personality didn't help and he was clearly under a lot of pressure so his outburst and complete arrogance to not even see his own failings were frustrating to say the least. He handled things badly, but then there were also circumstances and he was the fall guy. He was the yes man.

The club have gone through a lot of changes since our dramatic failure at Wembley more than a year ago.

Excuses aside, the team failed, Blackie failed, McCabe failed and as a club we failed.

But I am in agreement about this season. There is a new found optimism, Birch's role could be argued but one thing is sure in my mind, we're heading on the right direction again. Many of the issues I had towards the end of the season have been addressed or are getting addressed.

Is Blackie the right man for success? I'm not sure, but he seems to fit the bill for the senior management as they're supporting him with getting the right players in. Only time will tell if he can handle it.

I would like to say though that IF Blackie achieves success, then he deserves a lot of credit... but thats something i'm not worried about now, I just want the season to get underway and see if Blackie can get the team to play again...

 

[Micalijo]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

It's not hindsight though. A manager has to be able to sign better players, they don't all work but Blackie's strike rate is a disgrace.

The point is in this debate that Blackwell is still in charge having signed a pathetic keeper and a joke striker plus a series of crocks and very weak players. This inspite of having a massive budget in CCC terms.

 

[Micalijo]

Hi Maidenhead,

I agree with a lot of your first post, you certainly have a measured opinion of last season and its true there were a lot of issues way outside Blackwell's remit.

However, my main issue last season was his handling of matters, his personality didn't help and he was clearly under a lot of pressure so his outburst and complete arrogance to not even see his own failings were frustrating to say the least. He handled things badly, but then there were also circumstances and he was the fall guy. He was the yes man.

The club have gone through a lot of changes since our dramatic failure at Wembley more than a year ago.

Excuses aside, the team failed, Blackie failed, McCabe failed and as a club we failed.

But I am in agreement about this season. There is a new found optimism, Birch's role could be argued but one thing is sure in my mind, we're heading on the right direction again. Many of the issues I had towards the end of the season have been addressed or are getting addressed.

Is Blackie the right man for success? I'm not sure, but he seems to fit the bill for the senior management as they're supporting him with getting the right players in. Only time will tell if he can handle it.

I would like to say though that IF Blackie achieves success, then he deserves a lot of credit... but thats something i'm not worried about now, I just want the season to get underway and see if Blackie can get the team to play again...

Dramatic failure?

We barely had a meaningful attack.

 

[SotonBlade]

I think we can portion some of the blame on Blackwell for the £14m spent on players. If a manager comes into a club and see's one player on X wages another on Y wages, then surely you think to yourself, 'christ, we could pay for 4-5 with this cash, let's ship em out!'. Blackwell didn't he stuck with them and brought in mediocrity and loans. He's waited until we've suffered for consistency, through lack of numbers and the loan market, before getting rid of big earners such as Sharp and Naysmith.

Too little too late?

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

It's not hindsight though. A manager has to be able to sign better players, they don't all work but Blackie's strike rate is a disgrace.

The point is in this debate that Blackwell is still in charge having signed a pathetic keeper and a joke striker plus a series of crocks and very weak players. This inspite of having a massive budget in CCC terms.

How did you know Bunn was 'pathetic', Williamson was a 'crock' and Ched would only score a handful of goals without hindsight ?

We know the history behind why he had to bring a keeper in and to be fair, Bunn was hardly a disaster. Willo got injured pre-season and I don't recall many saying Evans was a disatrous signing this time last year (although most questioned the fee).

The reasons for the loans is a well troddened path and whilst you'll never admit that Blackwell had more than his fair share of bad luck last season, like many others, I think it's fair to give him a decent run at it this season with a settled squad. He has shown that he can get results in this division with a settled team regardless of his faults.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

I think we can portion some of the blame on Blackwell for the £14m spent on players. If a manager comes into a club and see's one player on X wages another on Y wages, then surely you think to yourself, 'christ, we could pay for 4-5 with this cash, let's ship em out!'. Blackwell didn't he stuck with them and brought in mediocrity and loans. He's waited until we've suffered for consistency, through lack of numbers and the loan market, before getting rid of big earners such as Sharp and Naysmith.

Too little too late?

Naysmith was injured all season and Sharp was on a season long, how could he have shipped them out any earlier ?

 

[Maidenhead]

I think we can portion some of the blame on Blackwell for the £14m spent on players. If a manager comes into a club and see's one player on X wages another on Y wages, then surely you think to yourself, 'christ, we could pay for 4-5 with this cash, let's ship em out!'. Blackwell didn't he stuck with them and brought in mediocrity and loans. He's waited until we've suffered for consistency, through lack of numbers and the loan market, before getting rid of big earners such as Sharp and Naysmith.

Too little too late?

You can only "ship em out" if they want to go and someone wants to pay them the same, or more, money.

I'm not saying that that KB didn't make any mistakes but as my dad used to say, "a man that has never made a mistake has never made anything"

As Swiss says I feel that things are now moving in the right direction and with renewed contracts/new signings this is now KBs team and he will stand or fall by his decisions next season.

I have managed businesses in a turnaround situation and there is never an easy answer or a quick fix but KB can not say that the building blocks now in place are not his.

 

[Revolution]

As Swiss says I feel that things are now moving in the right direction and with renewed contracts/new signings this is now KBs team and he will stand or fall by his decisions next season.

I have managed businesses in a turnaround situation and there is never an easy answer or a quick fix but KB can not say that the building blocks now in place are not his.

One thing that worries me is that of the better players last year, the majority were not Blackwell players. Only Cresswell and (arguably) Hendo made significant impact last year and were Blackwell signings. Most of the other Blackwell signings who played more than the odd game did not play very well (Taylor, France, Evans) or missed too much time (eg Ward, Camara, Williamson).

 

[beechblade]

How did you know Bunn was 'pathetic', Williamson was a 'crock' and Ched would only score a handful of goals without hindsight ?

We know the history behind why he had to bring a keeper in and to be fair, Bunn was hardly a disaster. Willo got injured pre-season and I don't recall many saying Evans was a disatrous signing this time last year (although most questioned the fee).

The reasons for the loans is a well troddened path and whilst you'll never admit that Blackwell had more than his fair share of bad luck last season, like many others, I think it's fair to give him a decent run at it this season with a settled squad. He has shown that he can get results in this division with a settled team regardless of his faults.

Have to agree if we see a stable and fit side, we'll mount a good challenge.

 

[Ollessendro]

Really? A fantastic squad that was doing so well that all the kids were taking their shoes of in the car park?

A fantastic squad is about much more than football ability alone. Last seasons disasterous loan situations made it almost impossible for anyone to stand a chance of building a team with proper team spirit and whatever you think of Blackwell that was not his fault.

Do you think Blackwell negotiated Walker's contract and release clause himself? Would you blame him for that too?

I actually think KB did a decent job in very difficult circumstances last season and I think things are looking much better for next season.

All the noises coming out of BDTBL are very positive. You don't need to have the best players to win the league, you have to have thye best TEAM and I think in that respect we are much stronger than last year.

Top 4 for me.

I see Mic has already taken you to the cleaners, but still feel the need to address your points directly.

Are you seriously suggesting that the squad we had under Robson (i.e. the one that KB inherited) was not a very good one? If so, that's even more deluded than your top 4 prediction for this season. Kenny, Morgs, Killa, Naughton, Naymsith, Ugo, Hendrie, Monty, Webber and Beattie all top pick from. Sure they were not playing well, but that's not the point.

Last season we were unlucky with injuries, but Blackwell made a much bigger deal of it than it was. Of course he would, as it saved his bacon. The teams that we put out against Barnsley, Scunthorpe, Donny etc were good enough to get results. However despite this we got comprehensively outplayed by mediocre teams for large parts of the season.

For the reasonsabove I couldn't disagree with you more about your point in bold. Sure KB had one hand tied behind his back, but last season was the equivalant of him being knocked over by a 3rd year old child. You imply that I am too hard on KB (and maybe I am) but I'll throw it back at you that you are being too soft with him. Performances last season were simply and uttely awful.

Hi Maidenhead,

I agree with a lot of your first post, you certainly have a measured opinion of last season and its true there were a lot of issues way outside Blackwell's remit.

However, my main issue last season was his handling of matters, his personality didn't help and he was clearly under a lot of pressure so his outburst and complete arrogance to not even see his own failings were frustrating to say the least. He handled things badly, but then there were also circumstances and he was the fall guy. He was the yes man.

The club have gone through a lot of changes since our dramatic failure at Wembley more than a year ago.

Excuses aside, the team failed, Blackie failed, McCabe failed and as a club we failed.

But I am in agreement about this season. There is a new found optimism, Birch's role could be argued but one thing is sure in my mind, we're heading on the right direction again. Many of the issues I had towards the end of the season have been addressed or are getting addressed.

Is Blackie the right man for success? I'm not sure, but he seems to fit the bill for the senior management as they're supporting him with getting the right players in. Only time will tell if he can handle it.

I would like to say though that IF Blackie achieves success, then he deserves a lot of credit... but thats something i'm not worried about now, I just want the season to get underway and see if Blackie can get the team to play again...

A very well balanced response Swiss. You see Maidenhead Swiss was defending Blackwell at the start of last season, but after week in week out dire performances and poor results he started to change his mind. Micalijo and I have been trying to tempt him over the othe dark side for some time and he is pretty close.

Regardless of all this debate, we are stuck with King Kev. So time will tell Maidenhead. If KB takes us to top 4, I'll swallow my words and but you a pint ....... in fact I'll bow down infront of you and say I'm not worthy. So this year it's shit or bust for Blackwell. I don't want to hear any more excuses about decreasing wage bills, best players being sold, injuries, no money and la de da. If Blackwell is to get any credit (from me) I want to us to go out there and try to win every game. Attack teams and play to our strengths. Play 4-4-2 away from home and stop this negative nonsense. If he does this then I'll give him credit. But above all we expect results. Some are predicting play offs, but I say that we'll be nowhere near!

 

[SwissBlade]

A very well balanced response Swiss. You see Maidenhead Swiss was defending Blackwell at the start of last season, but after week in week out dire performances and poor results he started to change his mind. Micalijo and I have been trying to tempt him over the othe dark side for some time and he is pretty close.

Regardless of all this debate, we are stuck with King Kev. So time will tell Maidenhead. If KB takes us to top 4, I'll swallow my words and but you a pint ....... in fact I'll bow down infront of you and say I'm not worthy. So this year it's shit or bust for Blackwell. I don't want to hear any more excuses about decreasing wage bills, best players being sold, injuries, no money and la de da. If Blackwell is to get any credit (from me) I want to us to go out there and try to win every game. Attack teams and play to our strengths. Play 4-4-2 away from home and stop this negative nonsense. If he does this then I'll give him credit. But above all we expect results. Some are predicting play offs, but I say that we'll be nowhere near!

I was defending Blackwell until quite late in the season... perhaps just after Christmas while we still had some hope...

But after improvements didn't come I thought we were poised for a change, I also thought (and hoped) we would get rid at the end of the season.

But I really believe things are changing, maybe not top 4, that depends on a number of factors, but top 6 is certainly attainable with the Squad. If we achieve this target or better does that make Blackwell a good manager, especially after last season? No, but as Olle touched on its how Blackwell responds to last seasons joke.

So far he looks to be responding well and despite his mutterings last season of 'domination' etc we have cleared the decks of the underperformers (some forced, some not) and look to be taking a different approach in almost every thing we do....

 

[Come from away]

It is still too early to start making any solid predictions (guesses) about where we will finish; until we know what the squad is going to look like.

Reviewing the squad and what might happen by the start of the week, we could end up with this;

-------------------------Simonsen-------------------------
---------------------------Aksalu---------------------------

Kozluk-----------Morgan-------Nosworthy---------Taylor
France-----------Ertl-----------*Bruce---------*Dickinson


Ward----------Montgomery------Britton-----------Yeates
Lowton----------Quinn---------Williamson---------??????

-------------------Evans---------Cresswell-----------------
----------------Henderson------Bogdanovic---------------

If we acknowledge that Hendo, Quinn, France and Willo have not hit the field yet, it would seem there is a good chance that Chappell, James and even Foster could see some time with the squad. This week should see most of the defence set. I would be surprised to see Kozy anywhere near a start as he is likely just the replacement back-up instead of Geary - Ertl and Nosey being better options depending on what comes in. I like most of the new players and if we can keep up the same quality for the rest, I will enter the season with a good sense of hope and even enthusiasm. I look forward to discovering who else we have missed in our attempts to predict the new gang.

 

[GainsboroBlade]

I hate to say this and just for once I would love the Blades to run away with the league,like we all do.But I think we will finish no higher than 10th,I really think we need atleast 3 good signings to save the season,I hope im wrong!!! UP THE BLADES

 

[Big Mart]

How did you know Bunn was 'pathetic', Williamson was a 'crock' and Ched would only score a handful of goals without hindsight ?

But that's all we have to go on, whereas the club has a scouting network that stops us signing such players. Or maybe we don't, maybe Blackwell just picks up the Daily Star, sees what the latest is on Jordan then turns to the "sports" pages and signs players on the strength of that.

You're more intelligent than you sometimes appear Jimbo, take off the blinkers, stop defending the indefensible take a deep breath and admit that sometimes the club doesn't do itself any favours with the fans

:gallop:

 

[Bladesman]

12th at best

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

But that's all we have to go on, whereas the club has a scouting network that stops us signing such players. Or maybe we don't, maybe Blackwell just picks up the Daily Star, sees what the latest is on Jordan then turns to the "sports" pages and signs players on the strength of that.

You're more intelligent than you sometimes appear Jimbo, take off the blinkers, stop defending the indefensible take a deep breath and admit that sometimes the club doesn't do itself any favours with the fans

Mic will say Blackwell is crap because Bunn was pathetic, Ched was crap etc etc. My argument is that when we signed Bunn, it was potentially a decent signing, as was Ched, the fact the latter has failed to live up to the potential so far is not Blackwell's fault entirely.

You say there's a problem with the scouting network, is that Blackwell's fault ?

I agree entirely that there's problems with the club and Blackwell's made mistakes, what I will argue against is when the likes of Mic put the blame for everything at Blackwell's door when sometimes, just sometimes, it isn't

 

[Micalijo]

Mic will say Blackwell is crap because Bunn was pathetic, Ched was crap etc etc. My argument is that when we signed Bunn, it was potentially a decent signing, as was Ched, the fact the latter has failed to live up to the potential so far is not Blackwell's fault entirely.

You say there's a problem with the scouting network, is that Blackwell's fault ?

I agree entirely that there's problems with the club and Blackwell's made mistakes, what I will argue against is when the likes of Mic put the blame for everything at Blackwell's door when sometimes, just sometimes, it isn't

This is just ridiculous. Blackwell is paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to sign players capable of producing decent performances in CCC. Bunn and Evans were two absolutely vital parts of his recruitment strategy last summer and they bordered on embarrassing at worst and mediocre at best (and I am being kind to them there in my opinion).

What mistakes has Blackwell made then? Spell em out, should make good reading.

If you want to remove Blackwell from the argument I am happy to focus on McCabe for today's entertainment. The great chairman who thinks that having thousands (my guess) of loyal Blades dead against the manager before the season starts is the way forward.